What I do for a living
November 29, 2006
One of the most common questions I get from people who know about Six Apart is "What the hell do you actually do there?" These days, that question's easier than ever to answer, but it involves explaining one of the goofiest parts of my job: My title.
You see, these days my business cards describe me as "Chief Evangelist". On the plus side, it's the first time in the history of the company that I've basically only had one job (though I still help out with as much stuff as I can), but on the downside, the title is fucking ridiculous. I hate the word "evangelist" as a description for people who advocate technology not merely because of its religious connotations, but also because it implies a degree of proselytization that I'd like to think I don't participate in. Most of the time, my job is really just simple education.
Unfortunately, there's no better title to describe this kind of work. So, evangelist it is, and the title has stuck. The last time I saw Guy Kawasaki, I made sure to mention that it's his fault I have a title that makes no sense outside of Silicon Valley. Fortunately, it should be a lot more fun the next time I see Guy, which is at the Global Network of Technology Evangelists event next week.
GNoTE is an interesting organization that is just getting started. At its core, it seems to be a group of people who recognize that technology can have a great impact on people's lives, but only if some of us are dedicated to explaining technologies and in helping make them accessible to a wider range of audiences.
If that sounds interesting to you, and you can get to Santa Clara, join us on Monday for GNoTE's inaugural event. (More event details are on Upcoming,) I'm very flattered to be in the company of counterparts from Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, and Sun, among others. As a bonus drinking game, you can take a swig every time the word "evangelist" or some variation thereof is mentioned, and walk out of the place blind stinking drunk!
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Oh, now that you've gone and said it, I have no idea what *I* will say at the event. :-)
Unfortunately, there's no better title to describe this kind of work.
I propose "cheerleader."
What? It works.
I propose "cheerleader."
Right, no other connotations for that at all! :)
What's wrong with "shill"? "Pimp" might be another alternative ;-)
I've always thought of you as the Blogging Monk
I've had difficulties with that "evangelist" label too, and have also tended towards "cheerleader". But I think I'm more an evangelist-enabler than a persuader myself... lots of people out there want to use the solutions, but they need good ammo to make their own case, in their own local situation.
I'll have to think about that meeting... being in a room full of people who think they're trying to sell each other can get weird quickly....
During the late 90's and early 00's, when I heard the word "evangelist" used in the context of Internet technology it meant "salaried salesperson". In most cases, when I met with an evangelist, I was meeting with someone who would make outlandish claims about the product, and spin up interest, and then send in his/her sales team to make the sale.
When deciding what my title should be for Values of n, the idea of using "evangelist" in the title came up but caused such discomfort that we sat down and really thought about what was more appropriate. It ended up that really, my job is to be an advocate for the community of people using our products. I certainly do evangelize and teach and share, but at the end of the day I'm talking about a product with the people that use it, and I'm listening to what they have to say about it, and aggregating and extracting value from what's being said.
In my case, evangelist is too narrow a term. I do some preaching of the gospel, but just as much or more listening to people. Ultimately I'm an advocate for the community of people using our products, and thus, Community Advocate is my title.
Energizer? Beat that drum to oblivion.
And I so badly want to go to GNote, but I just found out about it (from your imported Facebook blog, of all things). In the words of Ford Prefect, I could really use a strong drink and peer group, but alas it won't be tomorrow.
Advocate.
I love "advocate", Ben, but in some places that's actually a term that already has a conflicting definition. This is really a tough thing to name! :)
The conflicting definition being "lawyer"? I could see that being confusing. Though I think you could get away with it as long as you're not speaking Spanish or French, where it is really the same word.
I like thinking ab out this question, because I think there must be a better word.
I checked wikipedia, and enjoyed this line:
Christians often characterize evangelism as "...one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."
So .. I like the implied notion that "we're in the same boat, sister or brother, and so maybe I can be of help".
If I think of a word / name that might be useful, I'll circle back around.
Damn this is a great picture! sorry to be so unoriginal, but I am using it in my post about company evangelism.
Anil, this is the 2nd time in a week I happened upon your site, hmmm. My friend is working on a solution for your bottled water problem, you'll love it.
Be in touch if you'd like to be a part (it's free). Thanks for the pic.